


Irrational

by KerryBear



Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies), Guardians of the Galaxy - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Anxiety, Astraphobia, Comfort, Emetophobia, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-23
Updated: 2015-01-23
Packaged: 2018-03-08 17:32:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3217598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KerryBear/pseuds/KerryBear
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rocket has an irrational fear of something he knows is ridiculous, and it keeps him up. Luckily, Peter's there to help him through it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Irrational

**Author's Note:**

  * For [FoxyDysphoria](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FoxyDysphoria/gifts).



_**CKRRRSSSH** _

His tail twitched, and he swore he could physically feel his anxiety levels rising. Rocket had dealt with a lot of scary shit in his life, and he swore to himself that some loud noises in the sky were not gonna be anything to bother him. 

After two or three claps of thunder, he began to second-guess himself. 

 _ **CKRKRHHSSH**_ , another clap followed shortly after.

He wouldn't have been so frustrated, but he knew they didn't strictly have to be on that planet. It was just for the convenience of tomorrow's mission. He wouldn't let himself be any detriment to the mission if he could avoid it though. He knew his team probably already found him pretty inconvenient, so he knew he should do what he could to keep them from hating him more.

At the moment though, all Rocket could really do was hide under the blanket of his bed, and try and cover his ears. The situation, of course, was almost impossible to remedy given his cybernetically enhanced hearing. The sound still boomed into his ears every minute or so. He could feel himself shaking and sweating under his blanket. His ears were sharply flattened against his head, but they would unwillingly perk up at every clap.

 _This is fucking ridiculous_ , he thought to himself.  _There is absolutely no reason I should be feeling like this. It's just fucking noise._

He knew he had to get by it. If the thunder continued into tomorrow, his performance in the mission would be drastically affected. He would have to work through it. After a few moments of thought, he elected to seek help.

 _It's not like I have to tell him the issue or anythin'... But h-- He can help--? Right? I mean-- I-It's not like he's all that comforting, or anything, but-- He, uh-- He might know how to help..._ He tried to persuade himself. He couldn't shake the feeling that he would just be mocked, but it was obvious that if he didn't try and get past this he never would. 

Cautiously, he exited his room, but not without difficulty. Another boom of thunder occurred, and he actually almost fell over. His legs were shaking, and all he could do was ignore it as he paced outside the door.

_Holy shit, you dumbass. All you have to do is knock on it. Just fucking knock on it. ...Ugh, but he might laugh at me..._

He paced nervously, unable to bring himself to knock. Luckily, he didn't have to pace for long before a dreary-eyed Star-Lord opened the door. He looked like he hadn't adjusted to the faint light of the hall yet, and all he was wearing was some baggy pajama pants. His sleepy eyes opened in surprise as he caught sight of Rocket though.

"Rocket...?" His voice had an exhausted hoarseness to it as he tried to wake up.

 _Shit,_  Rocket exclaimed silently. He was just about to back out and just go back to cowering in his room too.

"What're you doing up, dude?" Peter questioned. He looked curiously at Rocket, noticing something significantly off about him.

"Uh-- N-Nothin'. I was just, uh--"

**_CKRRKKSHSHH_ **

Rocket's voice let out what was probably the most embarrassing, humiliating noise he had ever intended to let himself make. It was a tiny, high-pitched yelp, and he practically jumped in the air in shock.

"Eep--! F-Fuck, Quill, y-you gotta help," he stammered out without thinking, his fur on end and his tail twitching anxiously. He was so scared he didn't even have time to think about how embarrassed he was.

A small, sly smirked formed on Peter's face as he continued to grow more aware of the situation. 

"Aww, are you scared, Rocket? It's just thunder, it ain't gonna hurt y--"

"I know it's not gonna hurt me, shut up! I-I know that i-it's just thunder and I-I'm-- I'm safe in here, but--!"

He was interrupted by a quiet giggle from Peter.

"Awww, dude! That's so cuuuute," He said, a gushy, painfully sweet tone dripping on his words.

"It's not funny! P-Please, Quill, it's fucking humiliating, b-but I really gotta talk to somebody a-and I really don't want you to make fun of me a-about this a-and--"

**_KRRSHH_ **

He literally fell over. He collapsed onto his knees and hid his head in his hands. His ears were as flattened as ever as he hated himself for being so afraid of something so stupid, while simultaneously being too overwhelmed to fully process his thoughts.

"P-Please l-let me in...! Quill, I-I r-really need-- y-you right now--!" Rocket begged, his voice shaking violently. He felt nauseous. The worst part was, he didn't know why he was so scared.

Peter's expression softened heavily, and his smirk disappeared as he saw how serious Rocket's fear was. He was never scared enough to let himself be put into this kind of situation, and he would never openly admit how much he needed Peter unless he really needed him. 

"Y-Yeah, okay. Come on in," he tried to sound comforting, instantly feeling remorse for his former reaction. He led Rocket into his room, and they sat down together on the bed, Peter letting Rocket cuddle up to the blanket. It was a little embarrassing for Rocket, but that really didn't matter to him right now. All he wanted was to know things would be okay.

They say with a moment of awkward silence, with Rocket just terrified and Peter not really sure what to do. After a moment, Rocket's ears flattened, and he glared down at his shakey hands.

"I'm pathetic," he lamented, his ears drooping. 

Peter's eyes widened, not expecting that kind of remark. He sputtered for a moment, unsure of what to say, before he quickly stammered something out.

"N-No, you're not! Rocket, you're fine. These kinds of fears are really natural."

"No, th-they're not. I'm just shitty and I'm a liability to the team. If I-I'm like this tomorrow, I'll be useless on the mission," He explained, doing his best to sound logical, trying to hide his emotions. No matter how well he was hiding them though, he still looked like he was expecting another round of thunder any second.

"Rocket," Peter began, looking him in the eyes, even placing a hand on his shoulder. He could feel him shaking intensely. "Everyone has something they're afraid of that doesn't make all that much sense."

He snarled a little at Peter. 

"Yeah, right. Bullshit. I-If that's true, what're you scared of?"

His eyes widened, not ready for this question. After a small moment of thinking, he had an answer. He looked down at the ground, avoiding eye contact.

"Oh, God, uh-- H-Honestly? Vomit. L-Like, actual puke. Just thinking of it makes me sick." He really wasn't lying. He looked a little woozy.

Rocket's expression softened a little, and he rubbed Peter's shoulder softly.

"O-Okay, stop thinkin' about it then, Star-Dork," he teased, smiling slightly at him before continuing. "Maybe you're right... A-Are you sure you guys won't be mad at me i-if I'm not doing well tomorrow?" He looked up at Peter sensitively, his eyes exhausted and somewhat sad.

Peter returned the gaze, definitively. 

"Of course not, Rocket. We all love you. And we understand that we've all got shit like that. You shoulda just said somethin' about it, we coulda just camped out somewhere else."

"I, uh--" He lowered his gaze shyly, "I-I didn't want you guys to think I was worthless or an i-inconvenience or nothin'... L-Listen, it doesn't matter."

"No, it does." Peter gestured for Rocket to come closer, and held the blanket up for him. Despite Rocket's slight blush as he leaned his head against Peter's soft skin, they were comfortably cuddled against each other under the blanket. Rocket's shaking had decreased significantly.

"We would never think that you're worthless, man. You're one of the most valuable members of our team, just like anyone else. If you ever feel like that, just lemme know, dude. I'll try 'n' make ya feel better, 'cause, y'know-- I care about you. You're important, Rocket."

A quiet sniffle was heard from Rocket. He nuzzled against Peter, yawning.

"...Th-Thanks, Quill. You promise you guys'll never think I'm useless or anythin' dumb like that?"

"Promise."

With that, they sat in silence for a little while. Soon enough, a quiet snore could be heard from the fuzzy, anxious procyon. It didn't take long for Peter to follow after him.

**_CRKRKKSSHHH_ **

And nobody woke up.

And nobody panicked.

And, for once, for now-- Everything was okay.

**Author's Note:**

> I thought FoxyDysphoria would like this! Pocket's real important to me 'n' him, y'know, from what I can gather~
> 
> Pfft, what, I definitely don't have a fear of thunder that I project on to fictional characters to make me feel better about it-- Like everything else. Wow, I'm a fucking wreck. But, whatever, this stuff helps, so whatever.
> 
> I think it's really important in a relationship for both people to be accepting of each other's flaws, and comforting of each other's fears, no matter how ridiculous the fears might seem.
> 
> Also for some reason it really bothers me when people say that it's cute or funny or whatever when they find out that I'm scared of thunder? It just doesn't seem funny to me. It keeps me up for HOURS, and it's terrible, and I can never calm down, and I know I'm not in any actual danger, but I can't get past it. It's really shitty.
> 
> Anyway! Thank you so much for reading. Like, everything, fic and the notes~ It all means a lot. I hope you guys like this one. I wrote it really late at night after a long day and a performance, so I'm a li'l exhausted and sleep deprived, but I wanted to get this fic down 'cause it's important to me. I really hope you guys like it. Thank you so much!


End file.
